The present invention relates generally to ear protection, and more particularly to a manually operated earplug dispenser.
Disposable earplugs are used in large quantities in manufacturing and industrial operations. Convenient access to earplugs on-site is essential to ensure worker safety and to enhance operating efficiency.
Traditional methods of earplug distribution include providing a large open box of individual earplugs for workers to access as needed. Often, however, workers will inadvertently acquire more earplugs than are necessary when accessing the box by hand. Extra earplugs are commonly discarded about the work space, wasting the earplugs and requiring subsequent clean-up efforts. Additionally, sanitization of the earplugs is jeopardized in such a free-for-all distribution.
In another traditional method of earplug distribution, earplugs are packaged in pairs and placed in large open boxes proximate to manufacturing and industrial sites. Workers may then access the packaged plugs by hand ensuring only two plugs are attained at any one time and preserving the sanitization of the wrapped earplugs. This system of earplug distribution, however, substantially increases the cost of manufacturing the earplugs as now a packaging step is required. Further, wrapped earplugs result in unnecessary waste as the packaging is used only once and then discarded, often on the floor of the workspace, thus requiring subsequent clean up.
Recent advances in earplug distribution methods include utilizing stand alone or wall-mount dispensing mechanisms. FIGS. 1 and 2 show various views of a traditional earplug dispenser 10. The dispenser 10 generally includes a mount assembly 12 to which an earplug container 14 is affixed. A rotatable impeller assembly 16 is located within the earplug container 14 for facilitating dispensing of earplugs 18 which are stored within the earplug container 14. The impeller assembly 16 includes a wheel 20 having impeller openings 22 formed therein. The impeller assembly 16 also includes a raised portion 24 formed centrally on the wheel 20 to promote movement of the earplugs 18 within the container 14 toward the impeller openings 22. Further, the impeller assembly 16 includes a knob portion 26 which extends generally from the raised portion 24 to the exterior of the earplug container 14.
The impeller assembly 16 is traditionally a uniform construction of integrally molded plastics and is designed to manually rotate within the earplug container 16. An operator of the traditional earplug dispenser 10 rotates, by hand, the knob portion 26 thus turning the wheel 20 within the earplug container 14. The impeller openings 22 are intended to catch individual earplugs 18 and traverse them about a base 28 of the earplug container 14 toward a dispensing opening 30 through which the earplugs 18 pass into a hand of the operator.
However, due to the pliable nature of compositions commonly used to manufacture earplugs, rotation of the wheel 20 is often inhibited by the earplugs 18 becoming jammed between edges of the impeller openings 22 and the base 28 of the earplug container 14 as the earplugs 18 are dragged towards the dispensing opening 30. Inhibited rotation of the wheel 20 greatly reduces the overall efficiency of the earplug dispenser 10. Further, such jammed earplugs 18 are compressed under the forces exerted by the rotating wheel 20, thus, decreasing in size and allowing additional earplugs 18 to enter the particular impeller opening 22. This often results in several earplugs 18 being passed through the dispensing opening 30 at a time. The operator of the dispenser 10 generally needs only two earplugs, the excess of which are typically discarded resulting in waste and degrading the efficiency of the earplug dispenser 10.
Further, the traditional earplug dispenser 10 is suitable for allowing the passage of only certain earplugs 18. That is, conventionally, the impeller openings 22 and the dispensing opening 30 are designed so as to provide the passage therethrough of specified earplugs 18 of a particular size and shape. Additionally, the traditional dispenser 10 functions properly only in conjunction with earplugs 18 of a designated material composition. Therefore, the earplug dispenser 10 typically may not be used with earplugs of varying shapes, sizes, and materials, thus reducing the flexibility and overall efficiency of the traditional earplug dispenser 10.
Thus, an earplug dispenser is desired which ensures sanitation of earplugs plugs contained therein while allowing efficient, effective, and consistent distribution of earplugs of a variety of shapes, sizes, and compositions.
According to the present invention, a mechanism for dispensing earplugs is provided. The mechanism generally includes a container for storing the earplugs, a dispensing assembly attached to the container for dispensing the earplugs, and a mounting assembly for releasably retaining the earplug container and the dispensing assembly.
The mounting assembly of the present invention includes a base for supporting the mechanism. A neck is mounted to the base and rises vertically therefrom. The mounting assembly also includes an upper portion mounted to the neck. The upper portion receives and retains the earplug container and the dispensing assembly. The mounting assembly may stand freely upon the base supporting the earplug container and the dispensing assembly thereupon or the mounting assembly may alternatively be mounted to a vertical support by fastening the neck thereto.
The earplug container of the present invention is substantially a storage bin for containing the earplugs and includes an opening through which the earplugs may pass. The earplug container is shaped so as to promote the movement of earplugs toward the opening.
The dispensing assembly is mounted to the earplug container at the container opening. The dispensing assembly allows a selective dispensation of the earplugs from the container.
The dispensing assembly includes a channel plate releasably mounted to the container at the opening. The channel plate includes a plurality of channels formed therein through which the earplugs are dispensed. The channel plate also includes a through opening formed centrally therein.
The dispensing assembly further includes a shutter plate located adjacent the channel plate, opposite the earplug container. The shutter plate includes a shutter opening formed therein.
The dispensing assembly also includes an impeller located within the earplug container adjacent the channel plate. The impeller is attached to the shutter plate through the through hole of the channel plate. In this way, the shutter plate and the impeller may rotate relative to the channel plate selectively bringing the shutter opening into alignment with the channels of the channel plate, thus allow passage of the earplugs therethrough.
Further, the dispensing assembly includes a funnel fixably attached to the shutter plate such that rotation of the funnel correspondingly rotates the shutter plate and the impeller.
An operator of the earplug dispensing mechanism of the present invention rotates, by hand, the funnel of the dispensing mechanism. Such rotation correspondingly rotates the shutter plate and the impeller. The rotation of the impeller within the earplug container stirs the earplugs and settles the earplugs toward the channel plate, prompting the earplugs to enter the channels. Rotation of the shutter plate beneath the channel plate circumferentially moves the shutter opening relative to the channel plate. The shutter opening selectively aligns with the channels thus allowing an earplug located within the respective channel to pass through the shutter opening and into the funnel. The funnel guides the dispensed earplug to the awaiting hand of the operator.
The earplug dispensing mechanism of the present invention allows discrete dispensation of earplugs while maintaining the integrity of the earplugs within the container therefore not requiring the earplugs be packaged in any way, thus eliminating the waste typically associated with the use of packaged earplugs. Further, the earplug dispensing mechanism, as taught herein, prevents against dispensing earplugs in amounts in excess of that required by a particular operator, thus further reducing overall waste and increasing dispensation efficiency. Additionally, the mechanism provided does not cause dragging of the earplugs about the base of the earplug container toward a dispensing opening. In this way, the present invention avoids the frictional forces associated with dragging, thus preventing jamming of the mechanism, hence increasing overall efficiency and usability. Further, due to the novel design of the channels formed within the channel plate, the dispensing assembly of the present invention may accommodate and allow passage therethrough of earplugs of a variety of shapes, sizes, and material compositions.
The above-discussed and other features and advantages of the present invention will be appreciated and understood by those skilled in the art from the following detailed description and drawings.